Quotes of the week, Aug. 30, 2007

Here are some of the notable quotes from around Major League Baseball this week:

"That's just the signature of Jeff Kent, the way he's played the game his whole career. That's awesome for him to tag up and give it all he's got and to go head-first into home plate. He doesn't care. He's going to sacrifice himself. He got hit in the head the other night and came back and played the next day. Not many guys would do that."

-- Dodgers infielder Shea Hillenbrand on the game-winning slide of 39-year-old Jeff Kent in the 12th inning of Wednesday's win over the Nationals.
(Los Angeles Times)

"Earlier this year I was scuffling. I had the -- I guess it would be the University of Georgia frat-boy [haircut] working. It was looking pretty sloppy. So we came in [to Florida], and I was 0 for my last 17. I went in there and said, 'You do with my hair what you want.' Hugo chopped it all off, and I went 2-for-4 with a homer that night, turned the whole season around."

-- Braves outfielder Matt Diaz on why a visit to Hugo the barber is now a necessary trip when the team plays in Miami.
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"I told them that they should be proud of themselves. It is just as hard to get there as it is to play there. I told them they were doing something that I never did."

-- Marlins pitcher and Netherlands native Rick Vanden Hurk on what he told his country's Little League squad before it made its first ever appearance in the Little League World Series championship.
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

"I knew somehow I'd end up in the game. Anywhere [Manny Acta] needs me to play, I'll play, even if I'm not familiar with the position."

-- Nationals catcher Brian Schneider on playing first base for the second time in his eight-year Major League career. Manager Manny Acta inserted Schneider as part of a double-switch in the 12th inning.
(Washington Times)

"It won't be hard, not when your finger is on the line. I haven't chewed in four or five days and I haven't had any problems. I was down to two or three dips a day. It wasn't too heavy."

-- Giants pitcher Vinnie Chulk on his decision to quit chewing tobacco after learning that doctors believe that Buerger's Disease, a circulatory ailment linked to tobacco use, may be the cause of numbness in the middle finger on his pitching hand.
(San Francisco Chronicle)

"Throwing 86-88 mph was not where I need to be. I knew something was wrong, so I did some extra stuff between starts and it's been working."

-- Angels pitcher Jered Weaver on the benefits of adding a few rotator-cuff exercises to his between-starts regimen. Weaver's fastball hit 93 mph in Wednesday's win over the Mariners.
(Los Angeles Times)

"They brought the lefty in and he looked real determined up there. That was a beautiful swing, and he split the gap perfectly."

-- A's manager Bob Geren on rookie third baseman Jack Hannahan's hit in the 10th inning Wednesday, which won the game and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
(San Francisco Chronicle)

"All I know is, it [the substance] was blue when it went in and now it's orange."

-- Mariners reliever Rick White on his attempt to dye his goatee the same color as his last name but had it come out a different color..
(Seattle Times)

"I've never been in the playoffs, but I'd have to assume this was a playoff atmosphere from a fans' standpoint. We've been approaching every game like a playoff game for a long time now, so the intensity is there in our dugout."

-- Chicago Cubs infielder Ryan Theriot, on the atmosphere around the team and in Chicago as the Cubs battle the Milwaukee Brewers.
(Chicago Tribune)

"You're talking about a 21-year-old that has pretty much maintained his level of play. He hasn't really gone over the top, he hasn't been awful, he's been kind of consistent. We were expecting about .290, we were expecting him to hit with runners in scoring position, we were expecting solid average defense with the arm that we thought."

-- Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon on outfielder Delmon Young, who has played in 161 of 162 of the Rays' games since joining the team last August. He has hit .295 with 13 home runs and 78 RBIs during that span.
(St. Petersburg Times)

"This guy is everything you'd ever want in a baseball player, everything you'd want to represent Major League Baseball, everything you'd want to build a team around or to be the face of a company."

-- Detroit Tigers outfelder Magglio Ordonez, after his team had 16 hits but only three runs against Kansas City on Tuesday night.
(Detroit News)

"Somebody has got to catch. Joe (Mauer) has obviously got his leg problems. As long as I can walk, I can find a way to figure it out. I want to play. I want to be out there. These are the biggest games of the year. There's no way I'm sitting on the sidelines right now. I don't need to feel 100 percent to be out there. I'll find a way to just grind it out."

-- Minnesota Twins catcher Mike Redmond, who has a dislocated finger, on his willingness to play despite discomfort as the Twins try to reach the playoffs.
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

"Success breeds confidence, confidence breeds success."

-- Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Adam Eaton, after winning in his first start since coming off of the disabled list.
(MLB.com)

"Yeah, it was barely going over the wall. Another foot and a half, and I've got a homer. But it was a great run while it lasted. It was a blast, but good things come to an end."

-- Baltimore Orioles first baseman Kevin Millar, who had a streak of 52 straight games in which he reached base snapped on Sunday when the Twins' Torii Hunter caught a near-home run at the wall.
(MLB.com)

"It's very odd. No. 1, it's very easy to get a loss. It's a lot easier to get a loss than a win, and I have neither. It's an odd year for both sides, and I have been in quite a few situations where one or the other could have transpired."

-- Houston Astros reliever Trever Miller on not receiving a decision this season despite appearing in 68 games. The record for most appearances in one season without a decision is 48 by Tampa Bay's Scott Aldred in 1998. Detroit's Bobby Seay had appeared in 48 games this year without a decision before earning a win Sunday against the New York Yankees.
(Houston Chronicle)

"If it's not here, it will be somewhere else, believe me. I feel great. Definitely, I want to play another year."

"When I first started hitting leadoff, I was a little uncomfortable there. I think I approached my first at-bat the wrong way. I made my first at-bat into my whole game. If I had a good at-bat, I had a good game. If I had a bad at-bat, I had a bad game. Mentally, it just drained me."

-- Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler commenting on hitting leadoff after the trade of Kenny Lofton to Cleveland. Kinsler is hitting better than .350 in the leadoff spot.
(Dallas Morning News)

"I told him don't worry about me taking days off. There's no time. We're a game and a half up on the Brewers and the Cardinals are only two games out. So there's really no time for me to take days off. I'm not 100 percent, but I won't be the rest of the year."

-- Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, on his conversation with manager Lou Piniella about playing time. Ramirez is nursing a sore knee and a sore wrist.
(Chicago Tribune)